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miss_marvel_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
morebooks_morebutter's review
3.5
Thank you NetGalley for the arc. I loved the beginning, but felt it got too slow and was a bit too long.
jennareadsthings's review against another edition
2.0
The premise sounds great but I’m not sure that it really lived up to it. Unfortunately I feel like it’s… more of the same YA.
indoorg1rl's review against another edition
3.5
The Nightbirds have the ability to gift their magic to others with a kiss - something the church in Simta would have them killed for. Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer spend their nights bestowing their unique brands of magic to well-paying clients. When they discover that their magic is far more than they were ever told, they see the carefully crafted Nightbird system for what it is: a gilded cage. Now they must make a choice - to remain kept birds or take control, remaking the city that dared to clip their wings.
This book had been on my radar for a while, so when the second one was out, I took it as a nudge to pick up the series.
The magic system was quite intriguing initially, with girls being ‘used’ as the vehicle for it to manifest. It ended up progressing to be the ‘standard’ elemental magic, but it didn’t bother me too much as it was easy to understand, and I enjoyed the story overall.
The highlight for me was the sisterhood bond between the girls. I’ve always loved a found-family story, and this was no exception. This first book was a good set up for something big, which I could feel coming in book two. I’m ready for it!
smg1604's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
iorangi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nikki_flowers's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
karis321's review against another edition
2.0
The first couple pages drew me in, but the longer it went on, the more obvious it became to me that this book shouldn't have been so damn long.
Despite the book trying so hard at showing its feminist themes, the three main girls are not only one-note but they don't change at all by the end of the book. The narrative was really pushing that these girls were destined to be together, a found family, if you will. But all their scenes together were forced, stilted, and they went nowhere because not one of them could properly trust the other. Matilde tries to make them bond through telling each others secrets, but they still keep a ton more that leads to some very bad things down the line. So much for 'sisterhood.' Additionally, Armstrong tries to tie Sayer's love interest(?) Fen to them over halfway through the narrative as the final element (The magic is based on the four elements - earth, air, water, and fire), but it felt more like a copout to make drama between her and Sayer than a natural plot regression. I dunno. I just couldn't muster any care or thought into these girls (Or their love interests - one of whom shows up, like, three or four scenes out of the ~500 page brick of a book).
The worldbuilding is also very lackluster. The descriptions, despite being very lengthy, felt so barren. I had such a hard time visualizing where the book was whenever the scene changes. Plus, the magic itself wasn't explained all that well? There's a lot of things we the reader learn alongside the girls because the knowledge was buried, but we're still given all this info through big, blocky paragraphs. It makes the whole reading tedious and not fun. There was some other things not explained well, like the religion (There were for main gods, but only one of them was driving the magical girl killing? How does that not become contradicting?) or the worlds outside Simta were like (Besides the fantasy Ireland, which one of the girls was from).
Also, the bird allusions got old so fast. They were unending; you could not go a page without something about flying away or being in a gilded cage. I get it, Armstrong, the need to lean as hard into the metaphor as possible, but I feel like some restraint was needed.
All in al, this was just a dud for me. I didn't even know a sequel was coming out in August until after I started reading this, but with it ending on such an uninspiring note, I will safely say I will not be continuing this series.
Despite the book trying so hard at showing its feminist themes, the three main girls are not only one-note but they don't change at all by the end of the book. The narrative was really pushing that these girls were destined to be together, a found family, if you will. But all their scenes together were forced, stilted, and they went nowhere because not one of them could properly trust the other. Matilde tries to make them bond through telling each others secrets, but they still keep a ton more that leads to some very bad things down the line. So much for 'sisterhood.' Additionally, Armstrong tries to tie Sayer's love interest(?) Fen to them over halfway through the narrative as the final element (The magic is based on the four elements - earth, air, water, and fire), but it felt more like a copout to make drama between her and Sayer than a natural plot regression. I dunno. I just couldn't muster any care or thought into these girls (Or their love interests - one of whom shows up, like, three or four scenes out of the ~500 page brick of a book).
The worldbuilding is also very lackluster. The descriptions, despite being very lengthy, felt so barren. I had such a hard time visualizing where the book was whenever the scene changes. Plus, the magic itself wasn't explained all that well? There's a lot of things we the reader learn alongside the girls because the knowledge was buried, but we're still given all this info through big, blocky paragraphs. It makes the whole reading tedious and not fun. There was some other things not explained well, like the religion (There were for main gods, but only one of them was driving the magical girl killing? How does that not become contradicting?) or the worlds outside Simta were like (Besides the fantasy Ireland, which one of the girls was from).
Also, the bird allusions got old so fast. They were unending; you could not go a page without something about flying away or being in a gilded cage. I get it, Armstrong, the need to lean as hard into the metaphor as possible, but I feel like some restraint was needed.
All in al, this was just a dud for me. I didn't even know a sequel was coming out in August until after I started reading this, but with it ending on such an uninspiring note, I will safely say I will not be continuing this series.